Move Over, Bigfoot
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/snake_000721.html
Real or Imagined,
Giant Snake Enters
Arkansas Lore
Reports that a huge snake, up to 30 feet long, is eating pets and wildlife near an Arkansas town. Some wonder if a pet boa constrictor, like the one seen here, was released into the wild. (ArtToday)
The Associated Press
F O R E M A N, Ark. July 21 — Tales of a huge snake that has been eating animals in Little River County have grown to great lengths.
Now, an animal rescue group is being summoned from Pulaski County to try to catch the mysterious snake — reported to be 30 feet long by some accounts.
Carol and Darryl Smith of the Arkansas Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Association plan to dig the snake out of its supposed den on Sunday.
“It should be interesting — it could be a python, it could be a boa constrictor, it could be an anaconda,” Mrs. Smith said Thursday. “They thought it had been eating cats and small dogs. It’s usually going to eat what is natural for it — rats and mice and other small snakes.”
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officials have remained skeptical. But residents of Foreman and nearby communities say something definitely is eating small animals in the area.
Some suspect a 30-foot-long boa constrictor that was reportedly set free a few months ago in the southwestern Arkansas town.
Tales of Woe
One resident has reported that a pet goose named “Miss Daisy” died after being bitten by a snake under her right wing. Bullfrogs have vanished in a pond; fish in two more. Cranes and herons that once perched on the edge of Terry and Wedia Landsell’s pond have relocated. Mrs. Landsell said some of her cats have disappeared, too.
“When you get asked at the Taco Bell about it, you know something is up,” said Jim Williamson, editor of the weekly Little River News, who requested help from the Smiths on Thursday.
Although Game and Fish officials have suggested that what residents have seen is an oversized cottonmouth, Mrs. Landsell said this is no normal snake.
“I’ve seen a lot of snakes, but nothing this big,” Mrs. Landsell said. “We’ve seen it early in the morning or late in the evening.”
Nothing Found Yet
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officers have searched the Landsells’ property. They discovered one “pretty big” snake, said Officer Richard Rowlett, but it was not 30 feet long and looked like a typical water snake.
Boa constrictors need water to survive, but the snakes only eat every two weeks. Many boa constrictors are domestic reptiles kept as pets.
“There are some chicken houses around here, and often chicks die,” Williamson said. “Those could be a feast for a snake this big.”
Marty Powell, a Little River County deputy sheriff, said he had heard that someone released a pet boa constrictor in Foreman a few months ago, but nothing was confirmed.
Williamson said the snake is the talk of the town, but a few people have chalked the story up to lore. That region of Arkansas is known for the legend of the Fouke Monster, a “Bigfoot” creature that supposedly haunts the Little River bottoms.
“I’d be surprised if this wasn’t real,” said Williamson, who hasn’t seen the snake. “There are small animals disappearing, so something is happening down here.”
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press